Danielle van de Donk conceded Arsenal had luck on their side as they came from behind to beat FA Women’s Super League 1 high flyers Chelsea 2-1 on Sunday.
And the Dutchwoman insisted they would make the most of it after the Gunners moved up to third in the table – two points behind Chelsea and three behind leaders Manchester City.
Arsenal had to do it the hard way after Alex Scott’s 10th-minute backpass was misjudged by Sari van Veenendaal in the Gunners goal to gift wrap an early lead to their hosts.
FA WSL 1
Birmingham 1-0 Sunderland
Chelsea 1-2 Arsenal
But Vicky Losada headed the Gunners level just before the interval and van de Donk grabbed the winner when she rounded the keeper to slot home from a narrow angle.
Van de Donk said: “At the end they had a lot of chances so I think we were lucky to win, but in sport you have luck sometimes and I think we earned it today.
“It’s going to be hard [to catch Manchester City], but maybe Champions League, that’s what we’re aiming for and we just want to get as high as we can in the table and that’s it.”
Meanwhile Chelsea defender Hannah Blundell was left to reflect on opportunities missed.
“We know we’re struggling in front of goal, we can’t deny that, but we just need to make sure we turn up at the back, which is obviously what’s cost us as well,” she said.
“I do think that, once we get our confidence back, the goals will start coming.”
Birmingham City also closed in at the top of FA WSL 1 following Charlie Wellings’s late goal against Sunderland, a win they fully deserved according to manager David Parker.
Wellings pounced in the 88th minute to give her side a fourth win of the FA WSL 1 season.
“I’m not really relieved, it’s more a feeling of satisfaction and justification because we fully deserved the result and now we can put Arsenal and Chelsea under high pressure,” he said.
“I said to the girls before the game that if we have aspirations to get into the Champions League, no disrespect to Sunderland, but we need to be winning these games.”
FA WSL 2
Aston Villa 3-1 Millwall
Durham 0-0 Bristol City
Everton 3-0 Yeovil Town
London Bees 0-5 Sheffield
Watford 3-2 Oxford United
In WSL 2, Yeovil manager Jamie Sherwood said there were positives to take from the game despite suffering a 3-0 defeat against fellow promotion chasers Everton.
“You take positives from every game,” he said.
“We’re still ahead, there’s no pressure on us and everyone is chasing us. For a club like Yeovil, for everyone to be chasing us, we’re doing a very good job and we’re enjoying ourselves.”
The result of the day in FA WSL 2 saw London Bees’ seven-game unbeaten run come to an abrupt end as Sheffield romped to a 5-0 victory – their fourth win on the spin.
At the bottom of the table Watford came from behind to beat Oxford 3-2 while Aston Villa put space between themselves and Millwall with a 3-1 victory.
In the day’s early kick-off, Durham and Bristol City played out a goalless draw.
